Dodgers Preview: East Coast Road Trip Continues in Cleveland with Three-Game Set Against Guardians
Los Angeles Dodgers (32-21) versus Cleveland Guardians (29-23)
CLEVELAND, OH—The Los Angeles Dodgers’ six-game road trip continues as the team heads to Cleveland, Ohio, for a three-game weekday series against the Guardians.
It was a sour Memorial Day weekend for the Boys in Blue. They dropped two of three against the New York Mets, and the offense and defense were inconsistent in Queens.
Still, despite the losses, the Dodgers sit atop the National League West standings, just a game above the second-place San Francisco Giants.
However, the Dodgers are trending downward, winning just four of their last ten games, and are 11-11 in twenty-two games this month.
As mentioned in a previous article, the Dodgers are in the midst of an eight-consecutive series stretch against teams over .500 and are in the postseason picture.
While the Guardians are not in first place in the American League Central, they currently hold the top American League Wild Card spot with a 29-23 record. However, like the Dodgers, they are 4-6 over their last ten games.
Ironically, the prelabeled “weak” American League Central division currently has four postseason spots, with the leading Detroit Tigers holding the best record in the league and the Guardians, Minnesota Twins, and Kansas City Royals each holding their own postseason spot.
In Game One of this series, the Dodgers will turn to their stopper, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yet again, the righty will look to get the Dodgers back on track.
Pitching match-ups
Game One: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (5-3, 1.86 ERA) vs Gavin Williams (4-2, 3.94 ERA)
Game Two: Dustin May (2-4, 4.09 ERA) vs Tanner Bibee (4-4, 3.57 ERA)
Game Three: Clayton Kershaw (LHP) (0-0, 7.50 ERA) vs TBD (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game Times
Game One: 3:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, Guardians TV Presented by Progressive
Game Two: 3:10 PM PT, SportsNet LA, Guardians TV Presented by Progressive
Game Three: 10:00 AM PT, SportsNet LA, Guardians TV Presented by Progressive, MLB Network (out-of-market-only)
Who’s in & who’s out?
Not much has changed on the injury front for the Los Angeles Dodgers entering this series.
Left-handed starter Blake Snell and right-handed starter Tyler Glasnow have each progressed in their throwing program but are still weeks away from stepping on a mound.
Roki Sasaki, 23, is set to begin his throwing program in the coming days after weeks of rest and non-throwing. He hopes to rejoin the Dodgers by the All-Star break.
Shohei Ohtani threw to hitters for the first time since his second Tommy John surgery, a significant step as the three-time Most Valuable Player award winner looks to return to two-way status this season.
However, righty Evana Phillips has had some setbacks with his injury. The super reliever is still feeling discomfort in his throwing forearm.
The Dodgers will also have former Kansas City Royal Chris Stratton on the team after signing him to league minimum after his release from the Royals last week. He’ll replace Bobby Miller on the 26-man roster.
15-day Injured List (4): Tyler Glasnow, Evan Phillips, Roki Sasaki, Kirby Yates
60-day Injured List (10): Blake Snell, Brusdar Graterol, Michael Grove, Gavin Stone, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan, Edgardo Henriquez, Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech
Most of the Cleveland Guardians’ injured players are on the 60-day injured list and will not be returning anytime soon.
However, one player who is considered day-to-day is veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, who was scratched from the Guardians’ lineup during the series finale against the Detroit Tigers due to left leg tightness.
The Guardians called it a precautionary move due to the quick turnaround from the previous night’s game.
Day-to-day (1): Carlos Santana
10-day Injured List (1): Will Brennan
15-day Injured List (2): Paul Sewald, Ben Lively
60-day Injured List (6): Trevor Stephan, Chane Bieber, John Means, Sam Hentges, David Fry, Erik Sabrowski
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